The Woman With the 5 Elephants

Play trailer

The Woman With the 5 Elephants

Released Jul 20, 2011

1h 33m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

After dedicating her life to translating the great works of Russian literature into German, Svetlana Geier returns to Kiev for the first time in 56 years to translate the works of Dostoyevsky.

Joe Neumaier

New York Daily News

Perhaps this was just a matter of a great mind feeling as if her life spoke for itself.

Rated: 1/5

Jul 22, 2011

Full Review

Mark Jenkins

NPR

Quietly astonishing.

Jul 21, 2011

Full Review

Noel Murray

AV Club

Jendreyko has clearly considered how best to translate an entire life into a movie.

Rated: B+

Jul 20, 2011

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Transcends the documentary form and attains its own sort of artfulness - a quiet and lyrical study of a truly remarkable human being.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 5, 2019

Full Review

Christopher Long

Movie Metropolis

Literary Translators Gone Wild!

Rated: 6/10

May 1, 2012

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A no-nonsense intelligently engaging biopic documentary.

Rated: A-

Mar 4, 2012

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

I'd never heard of her before this movie, but I enjoyed getting to know her and her great accomplishments through this documentary. I don't think many people could've lived through what she did and come out with such a great sense of humor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An elegant and lyrical documentary about renowned translator Svetlana Geier, who has dedicated her life to translating Russian literature into German, more specifically, the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Geier, who lived an extraordinary life, coming of age during WWII in the Ukraine and Germany, has both a keen mastery and unique appreciation of the beauty of language, which the film evokes with great beauty.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Vadim Jendreyko

Director

Vadim Jendreyko

Screenwriter

Inge Classen

Producer

Vadim Jendreyko

Producer

Hercli Bundi

Producer

Thomas Tielsch

Producer

Jane's Journey

42%

80%

Jane's Journey

Watchlist

Tabloid

92%

72%

Tabloid

Watchlist

Great Directors

66%

43%

Great Directors

Watchlist

My Perestroika

93%

78%

My Perestroika

Watchlist

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

92%

82%

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: Captain America: The First Avenger is Good Old-Fashioned Fun

View more photos

Synopsis

After dedicating her life to translating the great works of Russian literature into German, Svetlana Geier returns to Kiev for the first time in 56 years to translate the works of Dostoyevsky.

Director: Vadim Jendreyko
Producer: Inge Classen, Vadim Jendreyko, Hercli Bundi, Thomas Tielsch
Screenwriter: Vadim Jendreyko
Distributor: Cinema Guild
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 20, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 13, 2018
Runtime: 1h 33m

Most Popular at Home Now